Flammable Liquids Storage .indd - IAPA

A Health and Safety Guideline for Your Workplace

Flammable
Liquids Storage

Introduction ●● ventilation

This guideline is designed to help you store ●● fire protection
flammable liquids safely. It is based on the
requirements of the Ontario Fire Code, Part 4, and ●● control of ignition sources
of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments
(R.R.O. 851/90), for storing flammable liquids Storage Containers
in industrial workplaces* under the following
conditions. They are: Containers used to store flammable or combustible
liquids, having a capacity of not more than 230
●● for incidental use litres, must conform with one of the following:
●● in closed containers
●● the “Transportation of Dangerous Goods
If you are storing flammable liquids in storage Regulations”
tanks, or if storage is your principal activity,
consult the Ontario Fire Code, Part 4, for ●● CSA B376-M (R2003) “Portable containers for
applicable requirements. Gasoline and Other Petroleum Fuels” (up to 5
gallons/25 litres)
*Note: All italicized words or phrases are defined
in the glossary. ●● ULC/ORDC30 “Safety Containers”

Storing Flammable Liquids ●● CSA-B306, “Portable Fuel Tanks for Marine
Use”
To store flammable liquids safely, or if you are
designing a flammable liquids storage area, ●● Section 6 of CSA-B620, “Highway Tanks
consider the following: and Portable Tanks for the Transportation of
Dangerous Goods”
●● design and construction of storage containers
●● the class of flammable liquids Containers of not more than 1 litre capacity used
●● the quantity to be stored for flammable liquids (5 litres for combustible
●● your storage location liquids) are exempt from the above requirement.
●● how it will be used
Ensure that all containers, in storage, have WHMIS
supplier labels affixed to them.

Never use plastic or glass containers for storing
flammable liquids unless storage in metal
containers would affect the required liquid purity or
if the liquid would cause excessive corrosion of the
metal container.

© Industrial Accident Prevention Association 2008. All rights reserved.

Class It is advisable not to store any quantity of
flammable liquids in basement areas*.
What is the class of the flammable liquid?
(*note: the Fire Code permits up to 5L of
Flammable liquids have flash points below 37.8°C, flammable liquid in safety containers in the
and include solvents such as acetone, ethyl alcohol basement, see Ontario Fire Code, 4.1.5.9)
and xylene. They are classified according to their
flash points and boiling points as follows: Do not store containers in or near exits (either
inside the building or outside), elevators or access
Flash Point Boiling Point routes to exits.
Class 1A below 22.8°C below 37.8°C

Class 1B below 22.8°C at or above What about quantities above 250 Litres?
37.8°C
For quantities greater than 250 litres, in closed
Class 1C at or above containers, you have the following storage options:
22.8°C but
below 37.8°C ●● in metal cabinets

Source: Section 4.1.2.1 (2), Ontario Fire Code (O. Reg. ●● in a general storage area in the workplace
213/07) (Note: as Section 4.2.8.4 outlines requirements
if quantities exceed 4.2.8.2(1))
The lower the flash and boiling points, the more
hazardous the liquid; therefore, the storage ●● in a fire-separated room in the workplace
restrictions are greater.
●● outdoors
If liquids with flash points at or above 37.8°C are
stored at temperatures above their flash points, they ●● flammable liquid warehouse (see Ontario Fire
must be stored as Class 1 liquids. Code, 4.2.7)

To determine the flash and boiling points of the Storage Options
liquids you will be storing, consult your suppliers’
material safety data sheets (MSDSs). Metal Cabinets

Quantity Up to 250 litres of flammable liquids (500 litres
of flammable and combustible liquids), in closed
What is the quantity to be stored? containers, may be stored in a metal cabinet. A total
quantity of 750 litres of Class 1 liquids (1,500 litres
Small quantities, up to 250 litres* of flammable of flammable or combustible liquids) may be stored
liquids (or 600 litres of flammable and combustible in a group of cabinets in a single fire compartment.
liquids), in closed containers, may be stored outside
of fire-separated rooms or storage cabinets, in any You may increase the quantities you can store
one fire compartment. Of this, not more than 100 by using additional groups of cabinets, but there
litres shall be Class 1A liquids. Greater quantities must be a minimum distance of 30 metres between
may be stored but must not exceed one day’s groups of cabinets permitted above.
normal requirements.
Ensure that cabinets used for container storage:
(*note: the Fire Code does not have the 250 L
restriction for flammable liquids) ●● conform to ULC Standards C1275 “Storage
Cabinets for Flammable Liquid Containers”

●● are labelled in conspicuous lettering to indicate
that the cabinet contains flammable materials
and that open flames must be kept away

Flammable Liquids Storage 2
© Industrial Accident Prevention Association 2008. All rights reserved.

If the storage cabinet has ventilation openings, If you are storing Class 1B, Class 1C and
make sure that the ventilation openings are combustible liquids in the same individual storage
sealed or that the cabinet is vented outdoors. The area, the total quantity of all classes of liquid
sealant material or the vent piping must provide storage must not exceed 2,500 litres (which is the
fire protection equal to that required for the maximum permitted for the liquid with the lowest
construction of the cabinet. limit).

General Storage Area Fire-separated Room in the Workplace

Storage in quantities greater than 250 litres of A room in which flammable liquids, in sealed
flammable liquids, but not exceeding that specified containers, are stored, must:
in Ontario Fire Code, Section 4.2.8.4(4), in closed
containers, is permitted in general storage area, ●● Be separated from the rest of the building by
provided that: partitions which have:

●● the area is sprinklered in accordance with –– a fire resistance rating of at least one
article 3.2.3.3 of the National Fire Code, hour based on quantity stored (consult the
2005 – the protection offered must equal that Ontario Fire Code, 4.2.9)
required for Class IV commodities (as defined
in NFPA 13) stored to a height of 6 meters; –– self-closing doors, hinged to swing
outwardly on their vertical axes
●● storage height does not exceed those set out
in Table 4.2.7A which includes a maximum of ●● Be equipped with:
1.5m for Class 1A liquids and 2.0 meters for
Class 1B and 1C liquids: –– a drain connected to a dry sump or holding
tank
●● when a single class of liquid is stored, not more
than 2,500 litres of Class 1B and 1C liquids –– liquid-tight seals between interior walls
(5,000 litres of Class II or 10,000 litres of and floor, and a liquid – tight ramped sill
Class IIIA liquids) are stored in a single fire at any door opening which is not in an
compartment (the above quantity applies to a exterior wall
single fire compartment and not an individual
storage area). ●● Be designed to prevent spills from flowing
outside the spill areas
If you are storing Class 1B and Class 1C liquids
with combustible liquids in the same fire ●● Have continuous mechanical or natural
compartment, consult the Ontario Fire Code ventilation to the outdoors by upper and lower
[article 4.2.8.4(5)] for the formula you must apply exterior wall gravity louvers. For this reason,
to determine if the quantities you are storing fall where natural ventilation is provided, the room
within the permissible limit of the formula. should be located along an exterior wall or
portion of an exterior wall of the building

The following table shows the maximum The Storage densities are averaged over
quantities that you are permitted to store. the total room area.

Max. Total Quantity of Min. Fire Separation around Max. Density
Liquid (litres) Storage Room, Hr. (litres/sq. metre)

10,000 2 hours 200

1,500 1 hour 100

Source: Table 4.2.9A., Ontario Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07)

Flammable Liquids Storage 3
© Industrial Accident Prevention Association 2008. All rights reserved.

If you are storing Class 1A liquids in sealed Arrange the contents of storage rooms to provide
containers, any Class 1 liquid in open containers, aisles at least 1 metre wide.
or if you are dispensing flammable liquids in the
room, make sure that the room meets all the above If the room is protected by an approved sprinkler
requirements, and that: system or an equivalent fixed suppression system
(as per Ontario Fire Code, 4.2.7.7), the maximum
●● there are no potential sources of ignition in the quantities and densities in the above table may be
room doubled.

●● it is designed in conformance with good However, the maximum quantities of Class 1
engineering practices, to prevent critical liquids that you are permitted to store in a single
structural and mechanical damage from fire compartment in an unprotected storage room
internal explosions with a fire separation of at least 2 hours is 2,500
litres of Class 1A liquids or 10,000 litres of Class
●● it has a spark resistant floor* 1B and 1C liquids.

(*note: the Ontario Fire Code does not have this If you are storing Class 1A, 1B and 1C liquids
specific requirement, however, it has requirements in the same fire compartment, or along with
to control all sources of ignition, see 4.1.5.3) combustible liquids, refer to Table 4.2.7.A.
(unprotected storage) and article 4.2.7.5.(4) for
If you are dispensing flammable liquids in the the maximums for flammable and combustible
room, and its area is greater than 15 square metres liquids and the formula you must use to determine
or if the distance from any point in the room to an if the quantities you are storing fall within the
exit door is greater than 4.5 metres, you will need permissible limit of the formula.
to make sure that:
If you are storing liquids with different flash points
●● the room is located in a floor area that has at in the same individual storage area, the maximum
least two exits quantity you are permitted to store is the maximum
allowed for the liquid with the lowest flash point.
●● the room has at least two exits doorways and
distance between doorways is at least three- Outdoor Storage
quarters of the length of the diagonal distance If you are storing flammable or combustible liquids
of the room outdoors, ensure that:

●● one exit doorway is located not more than 23 ●● containers are piled away from buildings
meters from any point in the room (especially building exits), employees, and
ignition sources
●● the doors are self-closing and hinged to swing
outwards on their vertical axis ●● there are physical separations between areas,
storage piles, buildings and property lines to
Ensure that the area where flammable liquids are act as a barrier against the spread of fire
dispensed has mechanical ventilation from floor
level to the outdoors at the rate of 18 cubic meters ●● the total quantity of flammable liquid per
per hour per square metre of floor area*. (*note: pile does not exceed 5,000 litres for Class 1A
the Ontario Fire Code requires sufficient ventilation flammable, or 15,000 litres for Class 1B or 1C
to ensure that flammable vapour concentrations flammable
outside the Class 1, Div. 1 zone does not exceed
25% of the lower explosive limit, Ontario Fire
Code, 4.1.7.2.(3))

Flammable Liquids Storage 4
© Industrial Accident Prevention Association 2008. All rights reserved.

●● the total quantity of combustible liquid per pile Indoor and Outdoor Storage
does not exceed 35,000 liters for Class II, and
85,000 litres for Class IIIA liquids ●● Ensure that storage areas are cool and dry
(flammable and combustible liquids exposed
●● where liquids of different flash points are to heat can release vapours causing fire and
stored in the same pile, the maximum quantity explosion hazards)
in the pile does not exceed the maximum for
the liquid with the lowest flash point ●● Keep ignition sources away. Enforce strict “No
Smoking” rules
●● the minimum distance between piles is 1.5
metres ●● Store flammable and combustible liquids away
from other dangerous goods (e.g., materials
●● the minimum distance to a property line or to known as oxidizers can promote fires and
a building on the same property is at least 6 explosions and thus should never be stored
metres with flammable liquids)

●● there are measures in place to accommodate ●● Don’t store combustible materials other than
spillage that conforms to section 4.1.6 of the those used for the packaging of flammable
Ontario Fire Code or combustible liquids in the same individual
storage area with these liquids
●● a fence at least 1.8 metres high surrounds
the facility to discourage climbing and ●● Check your supplier’s MSDS for any specific
unauthorized entry storage precautions, and make sure these are
followed
●● gates are kept locked when the facility is not
staffed ●● Ensure that storage locations are equipped with
Type B fire extinguishers in accordance with
Additional Requirements Section 6 of the Ontario Fire Code

The following are some fire prevention and ●● Enforce housekeeping measures to keep
protection measures and precautions that are storage areas free of ground vegetation
necessary to ensure the safety of all personnel and (outdoor storage) and combustible materials
of the environment.
●● Provide approved containers for disposal of
Indoor Storage cleaning rags and other waste
Locate fire compartments, individual storage areas,
and storage rooms away from exits and main aisles ●● Ensure that piles are stable to prevent toppling
leading to exits. which can result in containers getting damaged

Post warning signs identifying flammable and ●● Post spill control procedures in locations where
combustible liquid storage locations as hazardous flammable and combustible liquids are stored,
areas. and ensure that employees are trained in these
procedures
Keep aisles free of obstructions to allow access for
fire fighting purposes at all times. ●● Ensure that your fire safety plan covers all
areas where in excess of 250 liters of Class 1
Ensure that all electrical equipment in flammable Liquids or a total of 500 litres of combustible
liquid storage locations conform to the Ontario and flammable liquids are stored
Electrical Safety Code.
●● Ensure that storage areas are designed to
contain spills, including the water used for fire
fighting purposes

●● Ensure an emergency spill kit is readily
available for use

Flammable Liquids Storage 5
© Industrial Accident Prevention Association 2008. All rights reserved.

Applicable Legislation National Fire Protection Association Standards,
1 Batterymarch Park, Quincy,
Regulation for Industrial Establishments (R.R.O. Massachusetts, U.S.A.
851/90), Sections 22, 121 and 122 NFPA 13: “Standard for Installation of
Sprinkler Systems”
The Ontario Fire Code (O. Reg. 213/07), Part 4: NFPA 68: “Guide for Venting of
Flammable and Combustible Liquids Sections Deflagrations,”
4.1-4.12 NFPA 30: “Flammable and Combustible
Liquids Code,”
National Fire Code of Canada, 2005: Subsection
3.2.3: General Indoor Storage, Table 3.2.7.6: Glossary
Separation Chart for Storage of Dangerous Goods
– Classification 3: Flammable and Combustible Boiling Point – The temperature at which a
Liquids liquid usually changes to a vapour at normal
atmospheric pressure.
The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information
System Regulation (R.R.O. 860/90) Closed Container – A container sealed by a lid
or other device in a way that liquid or vapour will
Ontario Electrical Safety Code (O. Reg. 10/02) not escape from it at ordinary temperatures

The Ontario Building Code (O. Reg. 403/97) Combustible Liquid – A liquid having a flash
point at or above 37.8°C and below 93.3°C. These
Technical Standards and Safety Act, Regulation are subdivided into Class II and Class IIIA liquids.
217/01 – Liquid Fuels
Combustibles – Any solid, liquid, or gaseous
Technical Standards and Safety Act, Regulation material (e.g., wood, paper, cardboard, cloth)
213/01 – Fuel Oil not classified as “flammable” that is capable of
catching fire and burning.
Resources
Dangerous Goods – Products or substances
Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and regulated by the Transportation of Dangerous
Correctional Services, Goods Act (Canada) and its Regulations.

●● Office of the Fire Marshal: Commentary Fire Compartment – Areas in the workplace
on Part 4 of the Ontario Fire Code, O. Reg. where specified quantities of flammable or
388/97, 2001 combustible liquids are stored. Unless the
containers are stored in metal cabinets, fire
●● Audit Guide to Part 4 of Ontario Fire Code, separations must generally be installed between fire
August 1998 compartments.

Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing: Fire Resistance Rating – The time in hours that
Supplementary Guidelines to the Ontario a material will withstand flames or heat passing
Building Code, 1997, SG.2 “Fire Performance through when exposed to fire under specified
Ratings” conditions of test and performance criteria.

Fire Separation – A barrier against the spread
or fire that may or may not have a fire-resistance
rating.

Flammable Liquid – A liquid with a flashpoint
below 37.8°C and lowering a vapour pressure not
more than 275.8 kPa (absolute) at 37.8°C

Flammable Liquids Storage 6
© Industrial Accident Prevention Association 2008. All rights reserved.

Flash Point – The lowest temperature at which © INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION
a flammable liquid, within a container, gives off ASSOCIATION, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008.
enough vapour to form an ignitable mixture with
air near the surface of the liquid. All rights reserved. As part of IAPA’s mission to inform and
educate, IAPA permits users to reproduce this material for their
General Storage Area – Indoor storage area, own internal training and educational purposes only. For any
as covered in Subsection 3.2.3 of the National other purpose, including use in conjunction with fee for service
Fire Code of Canada, 1995, where commodities or or other commercial activities, no part of this material may be
plastics are stored in piles, on pallets, on shelves or used, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
in bin boxes or racks. any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recorded, or otherwise, without the express prior written
Hazardous Room – A room containing a permission of the Industrial Accident Prevention Association.
substance which, because of its chemical nature,
the form in which it exists or the manner in which The information contained in this material is provided
it is handled or processed, may explode or become voluntarily as a public service. No warranty, guarantee
easily ignitable creating a condition of imminent or representation is made by IAPA as to the correctness,
hazard to a person’s health or safety. suitability, fitness, or sufficiency of any information contained
in this material. Use of this material means that the user agrees
Incidental Use – Storage and use of flammable that IAPA and its employees will not have and are released
liquids is incidental or secondary to the principal from any liability whatsoever, however caused or arising, in
activity in the industrial workplace. Manufacturers connection therewith. Users also acknowledge that it cannot
of electronic equipment and furniture, and be assumed that all acceptable safety measures are contained
automobile plants are some example of locations in this material or that additional measures may not be required
where the storage and use of flammable liquids is in the conditions or circumstances that are applicable to the
secondary to the principal activity of manufacturing user or his/her organization, and that the user will personally
consumer products. make his/her own assessment of the information contained in
this material.
Individual Storage Area – An area occupied
by piles, bin boxes, racks or shelves, including While IAPA does not undertake to provide a revision service
aisles providing access to stored product, which is or guarantee accuracy, we shall be pleased to respond to your
separated from adjacent storage by aisles at least individual requests for information.
2.4 metres wide.
Revised: May 2008
Industrial Workplace – A building or part of a
building used to assemble, fabricate, manufacture, Industrial Accident Prevention Association
process, repair or store goods or materials.
Toll-free: 1-800-406-IAPA (4272)

Website: www.iapa.ca

Oxidizer – A substance that causes or contributes
to the burning of another material by yielding

oxygen or any other oxidizing substance.

Pile – Groups of containers (i.e., drums or other
prepackaged containers) of flammable liquids that

are stacked or piled on floors or pallets.

Specified – As specified in the Ontario Fire
Code, Part 4.

Sprinklered – Equipped with a system of
automatic sprinklers.

Flammable Liquids Storage